I finally have a quick minute to tell you about the race.
I arrived in Roanoke around 1 PM and rushed by to see Mitzi and grab some cookies she's been holding for me for several weeks. Then it was off to grab some lunch with Amanda and go to packet pick up in the Market. Love the socks they gave us in our runner packets. Love how quick the bib pick up & shirt pick up were. I'll save the rest of my comments on the "expo".
We ended up driving the entire course. Just to see it. I so should not have done that. It was psyching me out. But - at least I got a good feel for what to expect. It was going to hurt. Bad. It was going to be tough. Very tough. But if I could make it to the star, all was golden.
We left downtown and made a quick stop by my godparents' home to say hello. It was so nice to sit and just chat with them and catch up. Then we rushed to Dad's because we knew he was making dinner for us - and we didn't want to be late.
I had a huge surprise as we sat down to eat. A car pulled up in the drive just as we took our first bite. Apparently everyone but me knew my friend Diane was coming in for my race. I was so excited! So Dad chatted with the 3 of us over dinner and we took Amanda back to her car. Early bed for all because at...
4:30 AM I am up, showering, eating, getting dressed and gearing up for the race. We left the house at 6 AM. Arrived to find a perfect parking spot just as Amanda got a good spot in the next lot over. We went to the finish line, took some photos and went to the start line. John Carlin says "20 minutes til race starts." Cue porta-potty line. No way I was going to make it to the corral if I stood in the line. Thankfully some girl came out of nowhere and told 4 of us that there was a bathroom just inside the side door to the hotel. The outside door was locked but as another runner exited, in we went. Fastest wait ever. Back to corral. My GPS watch would not find my location. It finally decided to work during the national anthem. John Carlin and some way-too-excited-at-7 AM-guy started the race and off we went.
First mile was no problem. Even the first two hills. The third hill, I was feeling it, but it was doable. As we started up the mountain more and more, I was starting to really feel it. I hit mile marker 2, looked around, saw no one was running. Not one person. I thought "Why am I still trying to run?" and began power walking. Almost all of mile 2 was a power walk. Just before mile 3 I saw a man hunched over on the side looking in pain. He got back out in front of me and started to go. Then started holding his back, stopped and hunched over again. As I passed I patted his shoulder and said something like "You've got this." He said thank you. We all kind of stayed packed together til the turn at Mill Mountain. As some of the people headed towards Roanoke Mountain, I waved and said "bye crazy people - I'm taking the short-cut." Everyone laughed and our 10K pack headed up the last huge incline before my victory and everyone else's halfway point. My goal was the top of that mountain. Making it to the star was victory. The rest of the race did not matter to me. We began giggling and chuckling as we heard our intervals beeping and no one heeded them. "Ignore" was in everyone's thoughts. There was no running up that thing. It was a power-walking race. The same man began to lag but we hit mile 3 and everyone perked up a bit. He told me have a good run-walk and he'd see me at the finish. A half-marathon runner caught up to me (no joking ) and she and I hit the top of the mountain together. She told me to take the time to look out at the overlook because it's an amazing view. I smiled, said "I grew up here" and as we came around the front of the star I saw water, Gatorade, pretzels, orange slices and gummy bears. I was in heaven. Grabbed my snack and drink, slammed them in the mouth, adjusted everything, smiled at the camera, and took off.
I flew down the first 1.5 miles of that mountain. No intervals for walking. Just leaned forward and let gravity take me, while praying silently to stay on my feet. I heard people around me scared of falling and someone slipped on the tar that had just been put down. We got to the Brown house and there were mimosas for the runners (courtesy of the people who lived in the house). I grabbed a juice-only, took one sip, threw the cup and kept running. I hit mile 5, looked at my watch, saw "9:58" for mile 5 and cracked up. The cop standing there said "well that must have been a good one." He had no idea. I just smiled and kept running. I was still flying when I got back to Walnut Ave and stayed running down the hill. Hit the bridge and had to take my interval to walk. Finally. Then I went back to my 2:30 min of running to 30 seconds walking. I started slowing down. I could feel the exhaustion setting in. Jefferson Avenue seemed so very long. And uphill. Some guy beside me was telling his wife or girlfriend or whoever, "Come on. We are there. And then we never have to do this again." I laughed out loud, said I was totally with them and we took off for the finish. As I rounded the corner I took a quick peek at my watch and was amazed. I'd aimed for an hour and a half. I saw the finish line come into view and a girl came up beside me and said, come on, let's sprint it. We raced as fast as we could across the line. She then turned, smiled and said "that was fun. Thanks. I needed that." I did too. So much. I saw the clock saying "01:20:58" I heard John Carlin say "Kristi Casey" and "Knoxville, TN" but I was too tired and relieved to look around or listen. I just went straight for the water. And the amazing food at the runner tent. Could not believe how much they set out for us. That was the best & most organized part of the entire event. Much appreciated. After I grabbed my stuff I headed towards Amanda and Diane. Found them quickly and asked if they happened to see my finish time. Neither knew the exact but said just under 1:21. Diane took a video of my finish - which was cool. I felt good. Tired, but good. Could not believe I wasn't hurting more than I was. I shared some of the highlights with them as we sat and I stretched and ate/drank. We tried to find out if the Harringtons were there. I went back for more water and saw them put out chocolate milk. I looked like I hit the lottery as I reached for the milk. JUST what I wanted/needed. Plus more water. Ran into the man I'd patted on the way up the mountain. He had finished. It then dawned on me that I had not been last. Diane said "not even close". We looked up my time. 1:20:45. WHOA! Where did THAT come from?!?! I still can't believe it. Going up the mountain I was going to be happy with anything under 2 hours. I knew I could walk it in less than 1:45. By the time I hit mile 5 I thought I may actually make it in less than 1:30. I was shocked by my real time. Our team took a few pictures. Then Dan Harrington called (thank you Kenny) and said he & Gil would like to meet for lunch. They invited all of us to come and we made plans to meet at 12:15 at the restaurant. That gave me just enough time to go shower first!! YES!!! grin emoticonSo we rushed to Dad's, ran into Color Run traffic and laughed about finishing a 2nd race, then I showered & freshened up, and we headed back downtown for lunch.
Seeing the Harringtons after so many years and such a tough past 5 years was awesome. I gave Gil a long-overdue hug, gave one to Dan too, and introduced them to Diane and Amanda. We then headed to a different restaurant since the first one was closed, and sat down to eat. The conversation was great. The time together was precious. It was exactly what I'd needed. We had a wonderful lunch and then headed on our separate ways. After a picture or two. And promises to keep in touch. As we walked away, Gil called "Hey Kristi... 2-4-1." I signed it back to her and turned to Amanda and said "Aw! She told me 2-4-1." That was the closest to emotional the entire time had been - which was perfect. It made me smile as we headed back to the car.
We went back to Dad's and were basically half-awake sitting on the couch while Dad watched the race. We just vegged out for a bit. It was much-needed down time. Then Diane had to go (boo) so we said our goodbyes and then Amanda and I got ready to go to a cookout we'd been invited to for dinner. We met lots of folks and I got to spend some long-overdue time with Jason and his family, and see Granny Tate. It was great. We had another wonderful time, but I was fading fast. I was beyond exhausted. We left early and Amanda headed home while I headed to Dad's. I was starting to hurt and was awake enough to just get packed and organized, then I went to bed. I was asleep quickly, and without little voices calling "Mommy" in the middle of the night, had a very restful sleep. The alarm came early and rolling out of bed took real effort. Ouch. But ouch in the places I hadn't expected. Like my shoulders?? I ate quickly and I headed back to Knoxville. My kids were overjoyed to have me back home, and I was glad to be out of the car after sitting for 4 hours. I have been stretching while cuddling and catching up on hugs and "I love you more"s.
Am I glad I did it? Absolutely? Do I want to run it again next year or in the future? NO. Nope. I'm good. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. And the medal. I'm good. Once was great. smile emoticon
I do have to say thank you - to the race organizer Julie who gifted me the registration so I had this opportunity to run in my hometown. To my team - many of whom ran in their hometown during my run so I wouldn't be racing alone - and to the ones who were there at the finish to cheer me on. And to all of you who posted encouragement and covered me in prayer this weekend. It's the first race I can remember in a long time where I did not have a single medical issue and was able to actually run my race. I gave it my all - but could not have gotten there without you. Thank you!!!!
Next race.... May 17th here in Farragut. Another 10K. MUCH flatter course. You'd THINK it might be much easier after running up Mill Mountain. We shall see.
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